Throughout the over eleven years I have been in this business I have had the luxury of being a small part of many wonderful occasions for gift giving. Weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and so on.
One ongoing project I have with a local church is embroidering bib components. After I embroider the bib fronts with the church logo, I bring them to the local senior center. The sewing guild there sews them into sweet baby bibs with a satin ribbon closure. The church then picks them up and gifts them to each baby after they are Christened. It's a quiet production chain that just hums along but I LOVE having a small hand in this darling gift.
The other day I received a phone call from a man, Lou, who said he got my name from the senior center and he was wondering if I could help him out. He explained how his wife had some "challenges with memory" and he was wondering if I might be able to embroider something he could put on HER chair that would read "Loretta's Chair". He explained that she sits in his office/den while he works on the computer and he wants to help her know where she can sit and be comfortable. We talked for a bit about what might work best and I told him I would come up with something and get back with him.
When I hung up the phone my eyes filled with tears and my heart skipped a beat or two. Just the thought of how much love this man had to have for his wife made me feel so overwhelmed. I thought of what a tender heart he had to have to want to help her in anyway he could.
We spoke a few times and decided I would embroider some light grey towels with block letters, all caps and in blue (her favorite color). After the towels were finished I called him and we decided to meet up at the senior center. He told me that worked out great because he picks her up at 3:00. He told me exactly which building to go to and we set the date to meet.
When I got the building next to the senior center, The Welcome House, I had no idea what to expect. I walked in and there was a woman close behind. I asked if I was in the right building and she confirmed I found the right place. She then rang a doorbell on the wall and a young woman gingerly opened the door and welcomed the woman by name and let her through the door. She then slightly closed the door, and having never seen me before, asked how she could help me. I said I was there to meet Lou and she said "Loretta"? And I replied, "No, Loretta's husband". She told me he wasn't there yet and said I could wait there in one of the chairs and then she closed the door.
I sat in the chair and watched several people come in, ring the bell and pick up their loved ones. Some were spouses, some family members, some care givers. By the brief conversations I over heard during their departure it was clear the folks being picked up were all in need of the special love and tenderness that I felt Lou was showing his wife.
After a few pickups, a man walked in and looked at me at the same time saying "Kaci?" I smiled got up, we shook hands then I said, "Can I give you a hug?". He quickly replied "Yes, I feel like I've known you forever!". We hugged. Then I showed him the two towels I made and he went on and on how much he loved them. He asked if he could show me something and pulled out his cell phone. On it was a picture of a sign he had made that read "Loretta's Bathroom" that he placed on the bathroom in their apartment. I asked if it helped her and he sweetly said, "I don't think so all the time but I want to try and help her."
We agreed that payment for the towels would be his permission to share this story. This is one of those special occasions where what I got out of it, was far greater than what I put into it. He is a wonderful example of what having unconditional love is all about. He made me realize what marriage vows are really all about. He didn't sugar coat anything about dealing with a spouse who has memory challenges, but he did make me realize how patience is part of love. In our brief phone exchanges and one and only meeting, he touched my heart. I know Loretta has to feel his powerful love for her every day, no matter what memory challenges she may have.
That night, Lou sent me a picture of Loretta's Chair. The afghan folded on the chair was made by Lou's mother.
